A message from David B Torchinsky, President, AAA-CPAShare It's hard to believe that we are about to end another year. During this holiday season, I wish you and your families much happiness, health and peace, and thank you for your continued support of the AAA-CPA.

As we enter into 2012, I hope you'll join with me in our commitment to three things. I ask each of you to commit to participating and helping our association grow by making a resolution to do three things. These can be anything from joining us at one of our upcoming regional meetings (January in San Diego or Annapolis in April); becoming a moderator of a study group; submitting an article to the newsletter, joining a committee, becoming a mentor to our new members, attending a local chapter meeting or our annual meeting, being held in Seattle in July. There are endless opportunities for you to take full advantage of your membership, and I hope that you are up for the challenge!

I look forward to meeting you in the New Year, and if you have any questions or comments about the association, please feel free to email me directly at dtorchinsky@steinsperling.com.

Happy holidays,David

AAA-CPA office holiday closuresAAA-CPA Share We wish all of our members a wonderful holiday season. In order for our staff to spend time with their families during the holiday, please note the AAA-CPA offices will be closing at noon on Dec. 23 and Dec. 30. Our offices will be closed on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. Our staff will be teleworking the week between Christmas and New Year's. Have a wonderful holiday, and best wishes for a fantastic 2012!

The AAA-CPA Western Regional Education Conference- reserve your place today!AAA-CPA Share Jan. 20-22, 2012, the AAA-CPA will be in San Diego at the beautiful Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort and Spa. Space is limited so don't miss out. The AAA-CPA has reserved a block of rooms at fantastic discount of only $205.00 single/double including resort fee plus applicable taxes. The resort fee includes toll-free and credit card calls, in-room high speed internet access, fitness center, in-room coffee, daily newspaper and self parking. The rooms are only available until Jan. 6, 2012, so you need to call now to reserve your place. Call the resort at (800) 542-6096. Please mention that you are with the American Association of Attorney-CPAs to ensure you get the discounted room rate.

AAA-CPA launches online education portalAAA-CPA Share We are pleased to announce that we have launched our new online education portal. This portal will be the go-to place for all education of the association. We will be offering past study group sessions and education programs from our national meetings. Currently, there are study groups up from the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 year. We will have all other programs, including education from the fall meeting, up by January 2012. We hope you'll take a peak, login and set up an account. This portal is available to members and nonmembers. Questions on this new portal should be sent to nratner@attorney-cpa.com. To access the portal, please click here.

IRS files tax lien of more than $3,200 against Marion BarryThe Washington Times Share D.C. Council member Marion Barry serves on a finance committee overseeing the expenditure of billions of tax dollars, but continues having trouble making good on his own tax bill, records show.
The Internal Revenue Service has filed a notice of federal tax lien against Barry for more than $3,200 in unpaid federal income taxes for 2010, according to a document on file in the D.C. Office of the Recorder of the Deeds.More

Millionaire surtax: The go-to taxCNN Money Share Democrats say imposing a millionaire surtax to help pay for the cost of extending the payroll tax cut is only fair. Republicans say it would be a job-killer.
The GOP instead wants to foot the bill by leaning heavily on the middle class primarily by reducing the cost of federal workers. They would freeze pay, curb future retirement benefits and reduce the workforce through attrition. More

State gas tax policies costing governments millions in lost revenue, report indicatesThe Huffington Post Share A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic policy, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C., found that state governments are collectively losing out on over $10 billion in transportation revenue each year due to state lawmakers' reluctance to update gas taxes in their states.
The report also found that every year the national economy loses an estimated $130 billion due to higher vehicle repair costs and and travel time delays.More

IRS to issue new foreign asset report formAccounting Today Share The Internal Revenue Service plans to release a new information reporting form that taxpayers will need to use next tax season to report on certain types of foreign financial assets for tax year 2011. The new form, Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), will need to be filed by taxpayers with specific types and amounts of foreign financial assets or foreign accounts. More

Banks wooing wealthy women CEOs say this time is differentBloomberg Businessweek Share About 75 women executives streamed up the marble staircase of the Harold Pratt House on Park Avenue in New York last month to a ballroom with cathedral ceilings and antique chandeliers.
They were attending "Women Unscripted," the second in a series of events put on by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo and Co. aimed at attracting and retaining women executives as clients. More

SEC litigates with judge, lets Wall Street off the hookThe Huffington Post Share Last month, New York Federal District Judge Jed Rakoff rejected a sweetheart settlement that the SEC proposed with Citigroup, finding it deficient in many ways and calling the fine nothing more than "pocket change." In fact, the settlement was so weak it actually rewarded securities fraud and showed crime pays. But, the rejection was still huge news because judges just don't say "no" to the SEC. More